Commission questions fairness of security requirements at a Costa Mesa cannabis dispensary

The Costa Mesa Planning Commission eased safety requirements and limits on hours of operation for one retail cannabis business, and raised questions during their meeting last week about the fairness of enforcing such conditions on similar establishments.

The business , 420 Native Garden at 167 Cabrillo Street, had won a permit to operate as a recreational marijuana dispensary in a split vote by the commission on Feb. 27, 2023. At the time, those opposed to the business raised concerns about the possibility of increased crime, noise and parking congestion.

To address these before approving the permit, the commission added conditions requiring Native Garden to have security on site 24/7 and limited their business hours to between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Every other dispensary in the city is allowed to be open longer hours, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“This was the only project that was specifically conditioned to have stricter hours of operations simply because of the location’s proximity to residential properties,” Costa Mesa Assistant Planner Gabriel Vallalobos said.

Residents living next to Native Garden described the business as a model neighbor in letters to the Planning Commission. There have been just seven calls for police service to the location since it opened a year ago, and most of those involved tripped burglary alarms, Villalobos said. City officials monitoring the dispensary have seen no major impact to parking in the area

“I would ask you to celebrate the fact that this property has been magnificently improved,” Costa Mesa resident Jim Fitzpatrick said during the Feb. 23 meeting. “If you remember what it used to be, it used to be a spa center with spas piled high, hadn’t seen so much as a bucket of paint in the last two decades.”

In light of Native Garden’s apparent good standing in the community, commissioners granted a request to extend their operating hours to the maximum laid out in the city’s municipal code. They also adjusted conditions to require security be on site only while the business is open and when staff are present, instead of on a 24-hour basis.

Commissioners and people offering public comments during the meeting noted that Native Garden had paid $3,800 to apply for changes to the conditions in their permit. Commissioners also pointed out that there were other cannabis businesses in Costa Mesa currently required to have security on site at all times, and many of those may already be petitioning to ease those provisions.

“I’m thinking it’s going to be a tremendous amount of burden on staff and the applicants as well if every single one of those who wants to change security guard requirements has to come with 3800 dollars and a public hearing,” Commissioner Robert Dickson said.

Commissioners unanimously voted to ease the restrictions on 420 Native Garden and discussed how they might avoid going through a similar hearing process for every other business seeking similar changes. That may be beyond the authority of the Planning Commission, and could require the City Council to update the city’s municipal code governing marijuana businesses.

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